a demanding question
by Stormjade
Summary: She wasn't prepared for his question. He wasn't satisfied with her answer. Reiner X Annie X Bertholdt, with emphasis on Reiner and Annie.


**yay reinnie**

* * *

Eren: arguing with Jean.

Armin: trying(and failing) to break up the fight.

Reiner: trying(and failing) to flirt with Christa.

Bertholdt: nowhere to be seen.

Annie sighed, and the half empty cup in her hand connected with the table with a small _clink_ as she rested her cheek on her hand, her usual glazed look of boredom in her eyes. The seven of them were lingering in the mess hall after dinner.

Once Reiner's pitiful attempt at talking with the attractive young blonde was awkwardly cut off, the stocky man made his way over to Eren and Jean as Christa left to go find Ymir. He swatted the top of both of their heads, then wrapped an arm around each of their necks.

"Oi, you're gonna get us in trouble with Shadis! Don't want to make him angry, right, Jean?"  
"N-no…"

Reiner just laughed boisterously and patted them on the shoulder, sending them off on their not-so-merry way. Armin followed them out the door, and Reiner plopped himself down on the table where Annie was sitting. She looked up at him through her lashes.

"Hello, Annie."

Her only response was a short grunt of acknowledgement.

"Nice weather, huh?"

She scoffed.

"No wonder you can't flirt with Christa. You can't even start a conversation with me."  
"You are a lot harder to talk to than Christa, y'know."

Her leering smirk shifted slightly as she became more curious.

"Oh?"  
"Well, you're really quiet."

She looked back down at the cup, slightly disappointed. As if _that_ wasn't obvious already.

"And, she's got Ymir."  
"About time you noticed."

He leaned back, placing his hand on the table for support, dangerously close to Annie's hand. Annie resisted the urge to pull her hand away from his.

"You know about Bertholdt's crush on you, right?"  
"Mhm."  
"Who would you choose, me or him?"

She tore her eyes from their almost touching hands and met his eyes. They were boring into hers, anxious for an answer and yet intimidated by what she might say.

_Could you _be _anymore obvious, Reiner_?

Annie grasped the cup in front of her and started to lift it up to her lips, but Reiner's hand shot out and enveloped her small yet deceivingly powerful hand with his. She glared up at him.

_Is this a challenge?  
No, but I want an answer._

She got the message.

"I don't have an answer."  
"I don't believe you. You want to say Bertholdt, don't you? You just don't want to hurt my feelings"  
"You really think I'd care about your feelings?"

Ouch.

"I thought we were friends. I thought friends care about each other's feelings."  
"Why would you ask me that question if we were friends? You make it sound like you _love_ me."  
"I just want to know."

She stood up to leave the room, but Reiner's hand reached out again and closed around her wrist, squeezing it a tad harder than necessary.

_Don't try to escape me.  
__Don't try to oppose me._

He got the message.

"I need to know."  
"No, you don't. We can just move on and forget you ever asked me that stupid question."  
"Please, Annie, I'm begging you."

Her eyes widened. He never said please, ever.

"I'm being serious here. I don't have an answer."  
"I'm being serious too. Just for now, disregard my feelings and just tell me the truth."

Annie would've just flipped him onto his back as usual, but she didn't want to break any of the furniture in the room. His grip on her wrist grew tighter.

"At least let me think before I give you an answer."  
"No."

He stood up and pushed her forcefully up against the wall, pinning her wrist against the smooth surface. He glared down at her, and she lazily met his gaze with her bored eyes.

"Your warrior is showing, Reiner."  
"I want an answer now. Whoever first came into your mind."

She was silent. All she wanted to do was kick him in the stomach, throw him onto the ground, and make sure he never got up again. She had to settle for just glaring at him. She didn't want to say it, but she knew he'd never give up on it. Reiner was definitely persistent.

"I would choose—"

Bertholdt opened the door to the mess hall and paused, shocked to see his best friend pinning Annie against the wall. The two blond's gaze immediately shifted over to the tall brunet and he stammered for a second, searching for his words as sweat popped up on his brow.

"Uhm, Reiner, it's uh, almost lights out…"

Reiner glanced at Annie, then at Bertholdt, then slowly loosened his grip on her wrist until it dropped back down to her side. Embarrassed but angry, Reiner stormed out of the room, passing by a confused Bertholdt and startling Jean and Connie on his way to the dorms.

Annie leaned against the wall examining the red marks that his fingers left on her skin. Bertholdt tentatively tried to ask her what happened. The look she gave him made him feel bare and vulnerable.

"It was nothing. And he wasn't trying to come onto me, either. You have nothing to worry about."

He knew that it wasn't nothing. He had known them for too long to be fooled by her lies. Nevertheless, he didn't say anything else, only nodded, and followed the girl he loved out the door, and into the night.


End file.
